She got no farther, for with a left-handed thump that made all the cups dance wildly on the table, Ned cried out,—
"But I will think about the old troubles, for I don't intend to have any new ones of that sort! Do you suppose I'll see that snip of a boy standing up for what is right, and not have the pluck to do the same? Do you suppose I'll make my own father ashamed of me more than once? Or let the dearest little girl in the world wear herself out over me, and I not try to thank her in the way she likes best? Polly, my dear, you can't be as proud of your elder brother as you are of the younger, but you shall never have cause to blush for him again; never, sir, never!"
Ned lifted his hand for another emphatic thump, but changed his mind, and embraced his sister as closely as one arm could do it.
"I ought to have a badge if I'm going to belong to your select society; but I don't know any lady who will give me an ear-ring or a cream-pot," said Ned, when the conversation got round again to the cheerful side of the question.
"I'll give you something better than either," answered Polly, as she transferred a plain locket from her watch-guard to the one lying on the table.
Ned knew that a beloved face and a lock of gray hair were inside; and when his sister added, with a look full of sweet significance, "For her sake, dear," he answered manfully,—
"I'll try, Polly!"